Family Engagement

New Grantmaking Policy: Family Engagement Required

One of the priority areas for our Foundation is ensuring that families are involved at all levels of policymaking in the health care systems that serve them. To that end we have implemented a policy requiring that family members have a meaningful role in all our grant-funded activities, and that project budgets include compensation for these roles. Read about the new policy and find suggestions about how various stakeholders can get started on promoting enhanced family engagement.

Feds Seek Information about Family Caregiving Challenges

The national Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage Family Caregivers Act (the RAISE Act) became law in January 2018. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and maintain a national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers, and to organize an Advisory Council to make recommendations. Now, in preparation for the Advisory Council’s initial report to Congress, HHS is providing an opportunity for individuals and organizations to submit information on the challenges faced by caregivers. This information will help guide the development of the national family caregiving strategy. To offer your thoughts, submit this form by February 7, 2020.

Encouraging Family-Clinician Partnerships

The slides and a recording of the webinar “Stories from the Field: Building a Transformative Partnership with Families and Clinicians” are now posted to our website.

Research

Adverse Childhood Experiences More Common Among CSHCN, Study Finds

Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are more likely to have adverse experiences – such as having a divorced parent or guardian, witnessing violence, or lacking basic food and housing – than children without special needs, according to a Child Trends analysis of data from the 2016-17 National Survey of Children’s Health. Given the negative effects these experiences can have on a child’s physical and mental health, increased attention from health, education, and social service providers is warranted, the researchers suggest. Read more.

Webinar

Fair Housing Protections for Children and Adults with Disabilities

Wednesday, January 8
12 to 1 p.m. Pacific Time
Family Voices of California
Deatils: Naomi Sultan, a supervising attorney and leader of the housing law program at Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc, will explain California's Fair Housing law and discuss disability-related issues, including discrimination and reasonable/unreasonable accommodations. Register.

California Policy

Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Stakeholder Webinar

Monday, January 6
2 to 4 p.m. Pacific Time
(800) 779-8164; Passcode: 3033208
California Department of Social Services
Details: The agenda will be posted on the EVV Stakeholder Meeting webpage prior to the meeting. EVV is a system that electronically verifies that in-home service visits occurred. The federal government requires that all states implement EVV for Medicaid-funded personal care services by January 2020, and for home health services by January 2023. Register.